Further
by Lady Seinu
Summary: After losing his sister unexpectedly, Jounochi finds himself mourning in the arms of his most hated enemy. When he returns to school, he deals with the awkwardness of being treated differently and worst of all, the change in his and Kaiba's relationship.
1. Bad News

Further  
**Summary:** After losing his sister unexpectedly, Jounochi finds himself mourning in the arms of his most hated enemy. When he returs to school, he deals with the awkwardness of being treated differently and worst of all, the change in his and Kaiba's relationship.  
**Warnings:** This story will contain YAOI! If you're not a fan, I suggest you hit that little X on the top right of the page immediately! Main pairing will of course be Kaiba/Jounochi.  
**Other Warnings:** Eeehhh... language, violence, sexual themes (later on and at times)... ummm... tragedy! Yeah... That's why this is a drama.

Oooh, yay... I'm writing again. It happens from time to time. It mostly comes from reading other fanfics though... I get hit with inspiration! Yippee!

Anyway, I'm gonna start off by saying that everytime I read a Kaiba/Jou fanfic, there are several ones that include certain themes... Like saaay... ooh! School project: Jou and Kaiba are paired together... dun dun dun... what will happen next?! Or... Uh-oh! We're trapped in an elevator and are about to die! I better admit how I REALLY feel about you... or my ultimate favorite: Jou's dad is a bastard! Kaiba finds out and gets over-protective of his little puppy! Awww...

As much as I love every one of these themes, I wanted to try something I hadn't read before. So we got this... Yay for diversity!!! (Not that there's anything wrong AT ALL with the above mentioned themes... like I said, I thoroughly enjoy those, too!)

But anyway... disclaimer!!! I don't own Yugioh! Cuz if I did... obviously.. everyone would be gay. xD Haha... anyway, here's le story!

oOoOoO

Life had been hard for Jounochi Katsuya ever since his parent's had gotten divorced at a sensitive point in his life, being only eleven years old. Back then he was young and innocent. He didn't understand what kind of a man his father was, didn't understand that his mother and sister were in grave danger just by living with his father. He didn't realize then that The Bottle was the cause of his father's anger, not poor little Katsuya and he didn't understand that his mother didn't want to abandon him; it was physically impossible to take custody of her son after she'd run off with Shizuka to live in New York.

After the divorce, Katsuya's father became more violent. Everything was Katsuya's fault. It was no surprise that Katsuya had "made friends" with the wrong crowd. He had joined a gang by the time he was in middle school and started doing what his father did best: drinking and beating younger kids around.

If it hadn't been for Hiroto Honda, Jou may have stayed in Hirutani's gang and become a worse man than his father, hard as that was to imagine. Being friends with Honda made Jounochi a little less rough around the edges… But it was Yugi Mouto who brought the childish Katsuya back out.

Despite all the twists and turns life had thrown at him, Jounochi had been able to put on a smile and joke off anything even through his darkest hours, and it was all thanks to the friends he cares so deeply for.

However…

Jounochi wasn't sure how he was ever going to smile again. Not now… now that…

The blonde tried to choke back a sob as he trudged slowly down the streets of Domino. He had known something was up when he'd gotten home earlier that evening to find his dad sober. It was the first time since a few years prior when his dad had gotten the job he wanted and had started dating someone new… but the girl had left him after a month and a half and his job had fallen through, thus causing the man to start drinking again.

His father knew drinking wouldn't make _this_ go away. He knew he needed to be aware and sober for his son tonight.

And as much as Jounochi cried, the ground soaking up each and every little droplet that fell from his large soft brown eyes, he still couldn't bring himself to believe it, couldn't possibly comprehend it.

Shizuka couldn't really be gone… could she? He had spoken to her on the phone just yesterday! It just didn't make any sense!

Despite his father being calm and understanding, his expression just as remorseful and his tears just as abundant, (after all, despite the man's many flaws, he had loved his daughter just as much as any father could love their child,) despite that, Jounochi would not allow himself to cry in front of his father. He refused to display emotion around the man and that would never change.

After the man had sat Jounochi down to explain what happened, the boy had taken off without a single word. It would do no good for the boy to mourn with his father.

Jounochi pulled out his cell phone from his pocket. He so desperately wanted to dial his sister's number, to see if she would pick up, in case this was a really sick joke his father was playing on him.

But he couldn't. For fear of it ringing to voicemail or having his distraught mother answer, he just couldn't do it. Deep down inside, he knew calling Shizuka's number would only make matters worse.

After walking around blindly, aimlessly, Jounochi found himself in Domino City Park. He walked over to the bench overlooking a small playground, and crumbled down on top of the bench. His elbows on his knees and face buried in his soft tan hands, he hung his head and cried.

***

The mansion was dark. And quiet. And cold. Irritated, Seto Kaiba looked away from the ridiculously bright computer screen. The blueprints to his new Kaiba Land to be built in America in five years wasn't turning out the way he wanted it to. There was too much he wanted to have in Kaiba Land and not enough space. He'd make the building bigger, but he'd already purchased the land that Kaiba Land was to be built on. Making the building larger could not be possible and Kaiba didn't have the patience to shop around for a larger location, and the location he had picked was in the best area of New York for business. The area included a few ancient apartment complexes and a few small businesses that, quite frankly, weren't getting any business. Kaiba snorted. Either way, it was quite expensive buying the lot and damn it, he would make it worth his while. If only he could get the damn blueprints to work with it…

_You have five years to figure it out_, Mokuba's voice chimed in his head. "Yeah, yeah." Kaiba replied, pushing back his chair. He stood up with a yawn and a stretch, cracking his back as he did so. He decided taking his brother's advice might not be so bad for a change. _Just take a walk or something and come back to it later_. Kaiba had given him a look before snorting. As a result, Mokuba had stomped off angrily to play video games… or something. Kaiba wasn't so sure.

If there was one thing Mokuba couldn't stand, it was being ignored. Unfortunately for him, Kaiba was excellent at doing just that, especially while in the middle of a project. It wasn't like he did it on purpose. As a matter of fact, just about everything he did was practiced and robotic. He didn't even think about half the things he did anymore; he didn't need to.

Kaiba tapped his little brother's door gently with his knuckles before pushing open the cracked door so he could peer inside. Sure enough, as Kaiba suspected, his little brother was engrossed in a video game. Final Fantasy XIII looked like an enticing game, though Kaiba wasn't much of a fan for the series himself. The game itself had not yet been released but because Kaiba had _very_ reliable connections, he had been able to wring a deal out of a few suits to get his hands on it… for Mokuba's birthday of course.

"Hey." Kaiba called softly so as not to startle the young boy. The game was automatically paused and Mokuba turned inquiring eyes upon his brother. He nodded in recognition, the remote still within his hands.

"Did you fix it?" He finally asked when his brother didn't say anything more.

Kaiba really didn't want to admit that he hadn't… He hated showing signs that he wasn't perfect. A moment of silence passed between the two before he answered. "No." Mokuba snorted. "Didn't think so."

Kaiba's sharp blue eyes narrowed into a soft glare. "You're still annoyed with me." It wasn't a question, it was an observation. Mokuba rolled his eyes at that before turning around and resuming his game. Kaiba sighed discontentedly. "The longer you stay angry, the greater the chance that you'll turn into a wrinkly old man." Kaiba said with a smirk. It was something that Mokuba used on him to get him to lighten up. "Before you're even twenty." He added jokingly. Mokuba rolled his eyes again at the screen, paused the game once again, and turned to face his brother.

"Seto, would a 'I'm sorry, little brother', kill you for once?"

Kaiba made a mental note not to ignore his brother again… at least not for a while. "I'm sorry, little brother." It sounded forced, but it was enough to make the kid smile.

"You really can be a jerk when you're busy doing Kaiba Corp stuff." Mokuba exclaimed with a shake of his head.

"Yeah I know, you've told me before." Kaiba's voice was flat. They'd had this conversation before. "I've decided to take your advice, you know." He added.

Mokuba looked perplexed. "How are you gonna do that?" He asked, clearly confused.

The brunette gave him an odd look. "Well first I'm going to throw my trench coat and shoes on… then I'm going to take my keys, walk outside and lock the door behind me. And then-"

"Oh, _that__advice_!" Mokuba exclaimed with an embarrassed laugh.

"What did you think I meant?"

Mokuba waved his hand quickly at him. "Never mind, never mind. So you're going on a walk huh? I'm glad you're finally listening to me, Seto. I'm so proud of you."

Kaiba snorted. "Hmph. And while I'm on my walk, you're going to find a save point and go to bed."

"Aw, but Seto!"

"No buts. It's already 11 and you have school in the morning, do I make myself clear?" Kaiba crossed his arms and tapped his foot.

"Yes, sir." Mokuba replied with a slight pout on his lips. He wasn't about to test the waters with his brother. After all, he'd been on the computer working all day. Kaiba's mood obviously wasn't _that _great, especially since he hadn't solved the problem he'd been working on yet.

"Good." Kaiba nodded with a satisfied look in his eyes. "Now hop to it."

"Never thought I'd see the day when you encouraged me to play video games…" Mokuba grumbled.

"What was that?" The brunette snapped testily.

"Nothing." The reply came hastily.

Kaiba grunted as he left the room. Before leaving the mansion, he made sure his cell phone was on him… he always kept it on him, just in case his brother needed him.

***

The night was calm and cool, as October nights tended to be. Kaiba tossed his head back gently to gaze up at the stars. He should've taken this walk sooner… it wasn't often that he got to do something that was at least somewhat relaxed. He relished in the calm, bathed in the silence of the night… that is, until he heard soft sobs in the distance.

Kaiba was slightly annoyed by the disturbance, but at the same time curious as to who was crying and why. For all he knew, someone could've been mugged in Domino's very own City Park… Kaiba wasn't much of an outstanding citizen but he did what he could here and there. He'd saved a little girl's kitten from being stuck in a tree one time. It had made the front pages of the news, in fact. For weeks after that, the fan girls at his school would not stop pointing and cooing at him. Kaiba had been in a very dark and dangerous mood that whole month during school… he wasn't very fond of unwanted attention.

It didn't help that Mokuba kept the newspaper clip somewhere in his bedroom. Every once in a while he would whip it out and use it as leverage against his brother. Kaiba was still determined to find it and burn the evidence… whenever he had a chance.

Kaiba paused in mid-step. On second thought, maybe he shouldn't even bother with the weeping fool… whomever it may be.

Even though the smile on that little girl's face had been a very gratifying reward… it still made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside thinking about it. Damn kids… he always had a weakness for them. Why did they have to be so cute?

Kaiba growled in frustration. Damn people, ruining his alone time, too. He walked purposefully towards the sound of the cries, his white trench coat fluttering behind him in the wind.

A mop of blonde hair could clearly be seen over the back of the bench. A very familiar mop of blonde hair… Kaiba slowly approached the person until he was standing directly in front of them. The brunette's eyes widened slightly. He was surprised to find that he knew the person sitting before him. It was none other than the mutt.

Kaiba could think of a number of Kaiba-ish things to say. But opted not to. Not tonight anyway. Jounochi hadn't noticed him quite yet and the CEO debated walking away. With an irritated sigh, he made himself comfy next to the blonde. "What's wrong?" He bit out. He was not a people person so to speak… and he was even less of a Jounochi-person.

Jounochi's sobs stopped abruptly, his body rigid. He appeared to be holding his breath as he tried to get his cries under control. Jounochi's head was swarming. _What the _hell_ is Kaiba doing here?_ As horrible as his day had been, Kaiba was the _last_ person he'd want to witness his raw emotions hanging out there on his sleeves. What the hell was the bastard doing out here in the middle of the night anyway?

Kaiba's question registered in his mind. What's wrong? The boy's voice echoed in his mind. What's wrong? _Shizuka…_ More tears ran down his cheeks. "Damn it." He grumbled, rubbing his eyes furiously. If he didn't think about, maybe he could get himself under control.

"It's not exactly safe to be out here this time of night." Kaiba chided, using the same stern tone he had used with Mokuba earlier that night.

Jounochi laughed bitterly. "Look who's talking." The blonde paused before adding, "I could say the same to you." The blonde sounded absolutely miserable. Kaiba frowned. He really didn't like seeing the mutt like this… in fact, it really irked him. He was so used to the goofy wide grin plastered on the boy's face; around his friends anyway. And then the fire in his eyes during a heated argument with the CEO. Now Kaiba was staring at the top of Jounochi's head, listening to the boy's gentle sobs.

This walk had been a horrible idea. Mokuba would pay for it later on, the brunette noted mentally.

"I can take care of myself." Kaiba finally responded.

Jounochi raised his head slowly, wiping a few more tears from his eyes. "What?" The blonde sniffled. "Are you saying I can't?" He sounded slightly irritated but mostly he looked exhausted. He didn't really want to argue with the CEO, but it seemed he was going to anyway, out of habit.

Kaiba didn't answer. The last thing the brunette wanted to do was upset the boy further. An uncomfortable silence fell between the two as Kaiba slouched backwards to glance up at the sky. He would definitely have to make the arcade smaller…

Jounochi rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Kaiba…" He drifted off, not sure how to word what he wanted to say.

Kaiba drifted away from the thoughts of his blueprints and back to reality. He raised an eyebrow at the blonde as he waited patiently for him to continue. "Yes?"

The blonde in question wiped a few more tears that were threatening to fall from his face. "What…" Jounochi swallowed. This was going to be really hard for him to say. More tears filled his eyes. "What would you do if you… lost Mokuba?"

"Lost him?" Kaiba repeated, staring blankly at the boy. At this, Jounochi burst back into tears as he burrowed his head back in his hands. His heart-wrenching cries made Kaiba want to give the poor boy a hug… and only Mokuba could ever get a reaction like that out of the cold brunette.

Could something have happened to the mutt's sister, that red-headed girl? Why else would the smaller boy ask about Mokuba like that?

"I-it's not fair… It's just not fair, Kaiba." Jounochi was done holding it all in. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing it all to go away. "Shizuka… she- she…" He choked on his own words, coughing.

Kaiba put an arm around the boy without even thinking about it, his cold pale fingers gently holding the boy's left shoulder. He hated seeing someone in so much pain, even someone as annoying as the blonde. "It's okay, you don't have to say anything."

And Jounochi didn't. Instead, he leaned in towards his supposed "hated enemy", seeking comfort in what he knew was the darkest hour of his life.

The two stayed like that for a while… Kaiba couldn't estimate how long exactly. Fifteen minutes, maybe half an hour? The silence (other than the sound of Jounochi crying) seemed to stretch off for eternity into the night. Kaiba's mind wandered with the silence, back to times he tried not to remember. Like when his father would lovingly tuck him into bed. Or days where his mother would push him and Mokuba on the swings.

Kaiba shifted uncomfortably. He remembered his father singing to him when he was sad or scared. It was a song he himself had sung to Mokuba after his own parent's had died. Thinking about it now, he was curious as to what the words were… It had been so long since he'd heard it that he was drawing a blank as to how it sounded.

He thought about the song hard, trying to draw a tune out of the memory. He began humming, trying to draw the song out. After a minute, something came back to him and he sang the words softly.

"_The sun was born, so it shall die, so only shadows comfort me. I know in darkness, I will find you, giving up inside like me._

_Each day shall end as it begins and though you're far away from me, I know in darkness, I will find you, giving up inside like me._"

Kaiba stopped singing, the rest of the song unknown to him. It had been so long since he'd heard it… he didn't even know what it was called.

Jounochi had stopped crying for the moment. "What was that?" He asked, his voice a bit of a tremor.

Kaiba glanced at him. "Hell if I know." He answered with a shrug. "Something from the past. I can't exactly remember." It was as good an answer as Jounochi was gonna get, he supposed. Kaiba looked at his watch. It was nearing midnight at this point. If Mokuba wasn't already in bed, he was probably wondering why his brother hadn't returned yet. _Although he better be in bed…_ Kaiba thought, sternly. He removed his arm that had still been around the boy, feeling a bit awkward about it now that the blonde had stopped crying. "Are you planning on being out here all night?" The brunette asked suddenly.

Jounochi frowned. "I don't know… I guess not." Although Jounochi really didn't want to go back home. Especially if his father had started drinking again.

"Because I don't intend on staying out here all night myself." Kaiba said, again talking to the boy as if he were talking to Mokuba. Stern and commanding, that was Seto Kaiba through and through.

"Yeah, what are ya getting at Kaiba?" Jounochi half-heartedly snapped.

"It's not safe being out here by yourself after midnight."

Jounochi sighed grumpily. "Look, I don't know if you've noticed or not, but just because I hang out with Yug' and all them doesn't mean I'm pussy-whipped or nothing. Which is what you seem to think." Jounochi stood with a huff. "Jus' cuz I can't kick your ass what with all the karate-judo stuff ya take, doesn't mean I can't defend myself on the streets from thugs and gang members. I've done it before."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow at the blonde. Maybe arguing had been the solution to distracting the blonde from his sadness all along. "Hn, whatever mutt." He snapped back. "I just don't want any fingers pointed at me if anything were to happen to you tonight. Since I'd be one of the last people to see you, assuming anything _did_ happen." He said curtly.

"Man, Kaiba. You think too much sometimes."

Think… _Think_… It suddenly hit the CEO… he should replace the arcade with a virtual room! Why try to fit a bunch of random Duel Monsters arcade games in one gigantic room when he could have a much smaller room with a bunch of virtual reality booths meant for gaming?!

"'Ey, Kaiba? Are you still with me?" The shorter boy waved a small hand in the CEO's face frantically.

Kaiba snapped out of it immediately. Why the hell hadn't he thought of that before? Needless to say, the brunette was quite irritated with himself. He flashed a smirk at the blonde. "It's a rare day when you say something that actually gives me an idea… mutt." Kaiba said before turning. "You should go home and get some sleep. It's not far from here is it?"

"What's not?" Jounochi asked, tilting his head ever so slightly. _Just like a mutt_, Kaiba thought absently.

"The place you stay, you dolt." Kaiba replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh… yeah, it's not far from here." Although Jounochi doubted he'd be heading home anytime soon.

Kaiba again turned to walk away but stopped. As much as he wanted to forget he'd ever run into the blonde, he couldn't. There was something he needed to do first to put his conscience at ease. Mokuba would probably kill him anyway if he didn't. He turned back to the blond. "Jounochi." He called out as the blonde was walking away.

The boy in question turned, if anything shocked that Kaiba had used his name. "Eh?" Was the intelligent response that dropped from his mouth.

Kaiba almost had the urge to roll his eyes at himself for what he was about to say. But he'd feel guilty if he didn't do it. He didn't want to just leave the blonde; who had just lost a sibling… Jounochi's "Mokuba" so to speak. He swiftly and purposefully strode toward Jounochi. Startled, the blonde took a step back. What the hell was he doing now?

"Give me you phone." He commanded.

"What? Why?" Jounochi asked as he withdrew the device from his pocket. Before Jounochi had a chance to even consider handing it over, Kaiba snatched the phone from him. "Hey! You jerk, give that back!" It took less than a minute for Kaiba to finish what he was doing before the phone was retrieved by a flustered blonde. "I got personal stuff on that thing, yanno!" He said with a bit of a huff.

"Hn, like that concerns me at all. My number's in there now. If you need anything, you can call." He said flatly before turning away for the last time as he headed back the way he had come. He hoped Jounochi hadn't seen the blush on his face. He wasn't used to being so personal with anyone but Mokuba… but damn it, he had seen the blonde upset! How could he not be personal with him at this point?

Damn that kitten and that little girl to hell…

***

Jounochi stared blankly at the retreating CEO's back. After the brunette had made it back on to the street and out of the park, Jounochi brought the phone out and scrolled though his contacts. Sure enough, in his contacts under "Kaiba" he found a number. He guessed it was real. Vaguely he wondered how much he could sell the number for to some of the girls in his school.

Shaking that thought from his mind, with a mischievous grin he hit the "edit" button and changed Kaiba's name to "Moneybags".

Well, that had been uplifting while it lasted. Shizuka once again crossed his mind. Jounochi sighed sadly. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to go home and get some rest…

With that final thought, he began walking down the same street Kaiba was on, walking in the opposite direction.

oOoOoO

Gosh, I hope that wasn't bad for a first chapter!!! How did ya'll like it? Meh, I know they were probably out of character a little bit... But Jounochi just lost Shizuka... and I don't think Kaiba is so heartless that he'd be an ass after learning something like that. I tried the best I could to do accurate reactions for them, though...

Anyway, as for Jounochi's sporadic crying? I was kind of like that after I lost someone VERY close to me. First time I'd ever lost someone I loved... I went through periods that whole night after I found out where I wouldn't be thinking about it and then the next minute... BAM! A memory would flutter by and the crying would start all over again. So after Jounochi's crying outburst, when he seemed calm again? Yeah, completely normal to me... cuz that was how I reacted.

But anyway, who cares about me? I felt kind of weird having Kaiba sing, but I thought the song kind of fit in... I don't like those song fics where the lyrics are posted all up and down throughout the story, so I just wanted it to be that one part. The song is called Further by VNV Nation. I thought it fit... And yes, the story is named after the song... When I came up with this story I had NO clue what I was gonna call it. So while driving from work, listening to my VNV Nation CD, this song came up and after listening to the lyrics I thought... huh... that's not such a bad idea after all. But yeah, Kaiba singing... I doubt it'll happen again. xD But I thought I made it work regardless... did I make it work? Please tell me I did!

I SO badly wanted to have this finished yesterday, but my darling baby-girl (who is almost five months old now) is teething and I couldn't get a moment's peace to write. Thankfully she's sleeping now (which means I'm LOSING sleep... but hey, it's worth it.)

I wish I had a brother who owned a multi-billion dollar corporation who could pull a few strings... I so badly can't wait for the release of Final Fantasy XIII. But it probably won't be til 2010... *sigh*

Random thought here, but last note, I swear: Have you ever wondered what kind of music the Yu-Gi-Oh characters listen to? Let's do a poll! I'll let ya know what I think they listen to in the next chapter. =3

Anyway, leave plenty of reviews!! They are a writer's encouragement to continue. If I don't get any, I'll think I suck and will therefore abandon this project! (Which would be sad...)

Constructive critism is very much so welcomed. Thank you!


	2. Fragile

GAAAAHHH! I already wrote all of this once, but the darn internet shut down on me so I gotta write my author's note ALL OVER AGAIN!

*HUFF*

Okay, well... to start with, I had started this chapter over a week ago on my mom's computer (cuz I don't own one of my own) but... the moniter died. Who knows when my mom will find the time or money to buy a new one so to make a long story short, I lost four whole pages of chapter 2 on her computer. So I had to rewrite it ALL over again. (One of a few reasons why I'm a week and a day past my own deadline.)

At any rate, I had to rewrite this chapter on my dad's computer. Now that proved to be a funny and interesting feat, since my step-mom and her kids REALLY like to talk. A lot. And I can't concentrate on what I'm writing when they are talking to me. Because I don't like to be rude, I can't tell them to piss off. Gaaah. And then when they are not talking they are watching TV and one of their kids REALLY likes to blast the volume and I can't hear myself think. Like now. Darn rotten kids. It's MIDNIGHT for crissakes! I yi yi...

Anyway... as for my question last time... what kind of music do you think the yugioh group listens to? I honestly can see Kaiba listening to techno music and such... and for some reason, I think Jounochi would really like jazz! Dunno why... And then as for Ryou, I can see him listening to classical music... cuz he's a nut like that. xD But I don't know about the rest of the group. Haha.

Still can't hear myself think too well. It is soooo annoying! Anyway, the yamis have not made their appearances yet but they will! I'm just still debating whether or not they should have their own bodies... (I'm thinking they will). And I'm still debating whether or not I want Malik/Marik to be in this fanfic. I'm not a big fan of their characters, yanno? Bakura causes enough mischeif on his own as it is, I don't need Malik and Marik to add to the mix! But hey, if my lovely reviewers would like to see Malik and Marik then I'd be happy to throw them into the mix as well!

Oh, and as a last note I think I read somewhere once that Ryou had a sister named Amane... I think she died but in my story she's alive... she's not going to make any appearances or anything, I just mentioned her once. So if anyone wants to say 'Hey, Ryou doesn't have a sister!'... well... he does in my story! So bite me!

Anyway... hope you guys like my latest installment! Hopefully next chapter I'll find some time to write when it's actually QUIET in this house! (Ha! That'll be the day...)

PS, I didn't have time to proof read over what I wrote because I was so anxious to post this so if there are any grammatical errors... I'm REALLY sorry! Okay... on with the chapter!

OoOoOoOoO

Thankfully that night, the brunette had gotten home to find Mokuba snoring gently in his bed. His light had been left on and the video game still on pause. With a light smile playing on his face, Kaiba turned off the TV, moved his brother's blanket to rest up by his chin to keep the boy warm and finally turned off his light. He left his bedroom door open slightly so only a little bit of the hallways lights flooded in his room: just the way he liked it.

Finally Kaiba went to his own room. It was getting pretty late and he had school the next day. He had planned on working on the blueprints a little more but he hadn't anticipated his walk lasting _that _long. Hadn't expected to run into Jounochi like that…

The CEO stripped down to his boxers before climbing into bed. He turned off his lamp that was sitting on an end table right next to his bed. He stretched, yawned. Two natural human action, the brunette mused to himself. Despite how stoic he often tended to be, he knew (to his great displeasure), that he was just as vulnerable and just as human as everyone else. Colder, more precise, and certainly more brilliant, yes… but he wasn't completely flawless. It bugged him at times but he'd scoot it to the outskirts of his mind, whenever it did, knowing these things could not be helped or changed.

Kaiba sighed and rolled onto his right side and closed his eyes. He tried to wipe his mind clean of all thoughts. Since his parent's had died, the brunette had not been able to sleep well. The insomnia at first started with his obsessive mind wandering and wondering _'how would my life have turned out if they hadn't died?'_. Eventually he had learned to ignore the "what ifs" and "what could have been(s)". But his thoughts were uncontrollable at night. He would think about _everything_. Work, school, duel monsters, Mokuba's well being… the list was endless.

Sometimes Kaiba could get to sleep if he tried to make his mind a void. He would try to keep his mind blank, imagining a black nothingness. Sometimes that helped to quiet his mind. He had a doctor that worked with him in ways of conquering insomnia, (and if all else failed, he would drown out the thoughts with sleeping pills… or music, if it worked). He sometimes tried to count sheep but he would quickly get bored with that and if he lost count, he'd get annoyed and have to start over. Counting sheep required too much though, Kaiba concluded. The doctor had agreed.

But still, even with falling asleep to music and even sleeping pills, he still couldn't sleep well. He'd wake up after a few hours or he wouldn't sleep at all. Kaiba was very conscientious of medication. He believed relying on medication was a weakness. Sure, it was okay every once and a while, but relying on it on a daily regular basis? Seto Kaiba relied on _nothing_ and he was quite proud of that. Normally the CEO would only use sleeping pills if he had an important business meeting the next day or if he hadn't slept in a long while.

Either way, he was _still_ thinking too much about the very problem itself. Kaiba huffed and rolled onto his other side. Blackness, void, nothingness. He could almost feel himself drifting off, as if his mind was quietly vibrating in a soothing sort of way.

And then, completely unbidden, he saw Jounochi's face in his mind's eye.

The brunette's cold meticulous eyes shot wide open, all sleep completely banished. Kaiba cursed inwardly.

He wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.

***

A week and a half later, Kaiba found himself tapping his pen impatiently against the desk at school. The class had yet to start, their teacher sitting at her own desk still grading papers, waiting for the rest of the students to arrive. It was the first class of the day on a Monday… Kaiba knew after school he had a lot of work to catch up on at KaibaCorp and the _last_ place he wanted to be was cramped in a chair and desk, listening to teachers less intelligent then himself drone on about useless facts he already knew. School was _such_ a waste of time for someone as brilliant as himself. If he'd had the choice, he would skip it altogether. But Kaiba knew he wouldn't be taken seriously as a businessman if he were to drop out.

The students chattered mindlessly amongst themselves, throwing random junk at each other, laughing, gossiping; all the normal high-school stuff. Yugi Mouto, Anzu Mazaki, and Hiroto Honda sat in the back corner of the room talking in hushed voices. Jounochi hadn't been to school in a whole week. The three previously had no idea that past week where he was or what was going on. Jounochi had been ignoring Yugi's phone calls and hadn't seen any of his friends since he'd learned about his sister's death. Apparently Yugi had received a call finally on Friday after school about the blonde's whereabouts. Kaiba speculated that they were discussing the blonde's condition now.

Needless to say, they were all worried sick about him. If any of them had asked Kaiba last week (when no one knew what was going on), he may have told them in a low monotonous voice what he knew. That the blonde's sister was dead and the boy was probably taking the week off to mourn. (Then again, he may not have told them anything at all, as it was none of his, or apparently their, business at the time).

Actually, Kaiba was pretty sure Jounochi would be taking two weeks off. He only thought that because he knew that Shizuka and her mother had lived in New York, which by the way, was a good ocean away from Domino City. He had heard Honda and Otogi mention something about it when they were fighting over her. Not that he had meant to overhear the discussion, but two howling monkeys were kind of hard to ignore, in Kaiba's opinion.

The CEO frowned. Why the blonde was on his mind this morning, he did not know. Maybe it had something to do with those big watery brown eyes of his, the absolute distress and loneliness clear on his face. Kaiba almost rolled his eyes at himself. If nothing else, he would have loved to have forgotten the whole thing had ever even happened. Unfortunately fate was not so willing to deliver him a small concussion that would render that memory into a permanent case of amnesia.

This time Kaiba sighed out loud. When the hell was the class going to start? The CEO had half a mind to skip school altogether. He had so many problems at the office that needed immediate attention. If he didn't have someone else working on them at the moment, he would feel obligated to leave the school to handle them himself.

He had seen Mokuba off to school that morning after the "Jounochi incident" as the brunette now referred to it. Kaiba remembered their conversation vaguely. The boy had asked him what time he'd gotten home in between mouthfuls of cereal. Kaiba had told him it was rather late. Instead of being a nosy kid, Mokuba had just assumed that his brother had just taken a really long walk. Kaiba was grateful for that.

"Man this sucks!" Honda exclaimed loudly all of a sudden. Kaiba glanced his way, a slightly irritated look on his face. Anzu patted Honda's shoulder sympathetically as Yugi nodded his head in agreement. "How are we supposed to support Jou when he won't even talk to us?!"

"This first week is going to be really hard on him, Honda-kun. I'm sure once he comes back to school he'll be a lot more talkative!" Yugi exclaimed hopefully.

"I bet he'll appreciate it if you stopped calling him." Anzu muttered. "It's probably annoying him by now."

"But he _always_ talks to me about _everything_! I just don't understand why he hasn't at least picked up to tell me he just needed space…" Honda shook his head. His friends were probably right and he needed to back off a bit. "I just wanna know he's okay!"

"He's alright Honda, just really depressed." Yugi assured him. "But he's holding on."

Anzu glanced around at the room full of students. Some of the kids were watching them intently. Apparently one of the teachers had mentioned something about Jounochi being out of school due to a death in the family. Because of this, most of the school already knew why Jounochi had not been in class. Anzu had never seen a nosier group of teenagers. She turned to her friends and said in a hushed whisper, "Can we talk about this later? People are staring."

Yugi and Honda immediately started glancing around them. Sure enough, several students were eavesdropping on their conversation. "Nosy little bastards…" Honda grumbled in irritation. Anzu threw him a disapproving look at the comment, but otherwise didn't say anything.

The warning bell rang and some of the students in the hall began running towards their classes. Some of them continued their steady trot while others walked at a quicker pace. Kaiba leaned back comfortably in his chair, more than ready for the class to begin so he could get this day over with. Kaiba pulled out his handy-dandy suitcase, which not only carried his laptop, but his school binder and a few papers for class. As he separated his History notes from all his other notes (since this _was_ History class), a few more students filed in, some jostling by the other seated students, their belongings accidentally bouncing off the tops of the student's heads.

Among the students just getting to class was a boy with fair white hair and kind chocolate eyes. With a smile beaming from his face, he all but skipped over to Yugi and his friends and sat down with them.

"Hey Ryou!" Yugi chirped happily. "How was your weekend vacation?" Ryou was buzzing with energy. He had left that last Thursday and made a special trip out to England to see his mother and sister.

"Oh, it was fantastic!" He exclaimed enthusiastically. "Although Bakura tried to banish some bloody wanker from Liverpool to the Shadow Realm. But other than that…" Ryou smiled.

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me." Honda muttered with a shake of his head.

The final bell rang and the teacher got up from his desk and closed the door. As silently as the class before him, he turned to the whiteboard and began writing down some page assignments.

"Alright class, pass up last night's assignments please." He said cordially. As he collected homework he passed back graded quizzes as the students began pulling out their textbooks with groans and sighs.

"Man, I hate this class." Honda whispered to no one in particular.

The classroom door opened unexpectedly. Every head in the room snapped up to see who was coming into class late. Kaiba kept his head down as he glanced over the assignment in the textbook. He could finish this one in probably… five minutes tops. He snorted.

He heard Yugi gasp and exclaim, "Jounochi-kun!"

Kaiba did look up then to see the blonde mutt standing at the front of the class. If it was possible, his clothes seemed even more rumpled up than usual and his hair even more wild than normal. It had only been a week and a half since Kaiba had seen the blonde but the boy looked a little thinner and certainly paler. There were deep black circles under his eyes. He looked like he hadn't slept well in days.

"Sorry I'm late Takashi-sensei." He said flatly. His voice was glum and uncaring. So very different from his normal chipper jokester attitude.

"You apology is accept Jounochi. Have a seat." The teacher replied, his beady black eyes a little wider than normal behind his wiry glasses. He was just as surprised to see the boy as his students were.

Jounochi strode over to the middle of the classroom, taking the first empty seat he could find, which was not too far from where Kaiba was sitting. The students around them whispered a bit before the teacher cut them off by clearing his throat. "Work on your assignments please." He said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Kaiba worked swiftly and silently on his textbook assignment (which he did indeed finished in five minutes). After completing one assignment he would move onto the next one listed on the whiteboard. However, the whole time he was working he could not stop thinking about Jounochi. _Why is he here?_ Not only was the fact that he was thinking about the blonde annoying him, but the boy's broken spirit irked him really bad, too. And that feeling to talk to the boy and comfort him? Kaiba almost snarled at the back of Jounochi's head. This had to stop. Today.

Luckily for Kaiba, his phone chose to ring at that precise moment. A call from work… Kaiba almost groaned. He wasn't in the least bit surprised. He stood from his seat and excused himself from class.

Unbeknownst to Kaiba, Jounochi's sad brown eyes followed him all the way to the door of the classroom. As soon as the CEO was outside of the classroom door, the blonde buried his head in his hands. Was Kaiba gonna use his whole crying incident against him? How mean would he be now? Jounochi didn't think he could handle it and in fact, had every intention of cornering Kaiba about it. He was hoping Kaiba would just forget about the whole thing… so they could get back to their normal routine. Well, maybe not. Their "normal routine" was starting to get tiring as well. Jounochi rolled his eyes skyward. He didn't even know what he wanted anymore.

A note found it's way on Jounochi's desk. He opened it up slowly and was surprised to see that the note was from Anzu. Jounochi shook his head in surprise. Anzu _never_ sent notes, didn't approve of them either. Normally, the only person he ever got notes from was Honda.

_Hey Jou,_

_I made a copy of all the notes and homework you missed. And if you need any help with anything at all, you know I'm here for you!_

_- Anzu_

Jounochi smiled slightly. Well that was nice of her! He could certainly use the help… He picked up one of his pens and quickly wrote back:

_Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks, Anzu._

Short an simple. Jounochi wasn't much for writing paragraphs anyway. With a bit of a sigh, he pulled out his textbook and began flipping through the pages. It didn't help that he never understood any of this junk before… now he was behind too! The blonde snuck a look at the teacher to make sure his back was turned before facing Anzu's direction and chucking the note across the room.

Jounochi looked over his textbook. He was _never_ gonna pass this dumb class. And honestly, why did he need to know any of this stuff anyway? He didn't think most careers required you to know Japan's history. They were learning about old Japanese folklore and feudal times. It was at least more interesting a subject than the old wars of Japan, but still. The only subject Jounochi could stand was lunch time. And Anzu argued with him that it wasn't even a subject, because he didn't get graded in it. Jounochi snorted. He begged to differ.

The last week had been one huge emotional event. It was something Jounochi would rather not think about, if given the choice. And he tried not to, too. His mother had personally flown him out to New York to attend the funeral. While he was out there, he had learned the details of his sister's death. While he had known she had died in a car wreck, he didn't know whom she'd been driving with… or how the accident happened… or anything, for that mattered.

Turned out Shizuka had been walking down the street one evening after studying in the library. His sister had been walking home when a driver came hurtling down the street as she was crossing it. Of course, Shizuka couldn't get out of the way in time… and the driver had inevitably hit her. Ironically enough, the driver had been drunk. Jounochi wasn't sure if he found that funny or not, in his own sick and twisted sort of humor. What did his dad think of that, really?

Jounochi and his mother had been a little more at peace when the police reported to them that they'd found the driver and arrested him. With any luck, the man would be in prison for life.

The casket had been closed.

This bothered Jounochi a lot. The fact that… The blonde rubbed at his eyes. He could already feel the tears accumulating. The fact that… she was hit by that car _so_ hard that her… body… was beyond repair? It made Jounochi sick. It made him want to kill that son of a bitch that had been behind the wheel. Just thinking about it made his blood boil.

And the casket was closed. It was _closed_! Despite how many times his mother had told him, regrettably, that his sister _was_ in the casket, because Jounochi hadn't seen her in there himself he could not bring himself to believe that she actually was. He didn't have any proof, Shizuka couldn't _really_ be dead…? It was all a lie. It had to be. His mother had always hated him… It had to be some sort of sick and twisted joke on her part.

Yet no matter how many times he said it, he knew she was gone. She was really gone.

Before the tears could start falling, a note landed on his desk. It was a perfect distraction and he immediately wiped thoughts of his sister from his mind. This note, he could tell, was from Honda because it was folded in the shape of a football. That's how Honda always did his notes.

_Hey man, how you holding up?_

Jounochi wasn't sure how to answer Honda's question… or if he even _wanted_ to. He glanced back at Honda and shrugged before stuffing the note underneath his textbook. He had to get to work, before the teacher noticed and yelled at him.

Honda was a little more than perturbed that Jounochi hadn't passed the note back. The brunette really wanted to help his pal any way he could, but wasn't sure how… and how could he know if Jounochi wouldn't tell him? Honda was about to start up another note when Anzu tapped him on the shoulder and gave him a look. Apparently she had read his mind. She had been doing that a whole lot lately and it was really starting to annoy him. He gave a small of huff of indignation before turning to his own work.

Kaiba finally returned to class five minutes before it was supposed to end. The teacher told him the assignments he hadn't completed would be part of his homework. Just as he'd finished packing up his stuff, the bell rang signaling everyone to leave.

Yugi and his friends cautiously approached Jounochi. Jounochi glanced at them, not even bothering to smile. They knew he wasn't happy, what was the point faking it. Instead, he continued packing up his own belongings, waiting for someone to say something.

"Hey Jou, if you want to meet me at my locker before lunch, I have an extra copy of those notes." Anzu reminded the blonde.

Jounochi nodded his head in response. "Okay. Thanks."

The group headed out to the hall. The next class was Math which, despite what everyone believe, Jounochi was actually decent in. He shared this class with Yugi, Ryou, and Anzu… and Kaiba. The blonde shrugged to himself. But really, who was counting that guy?

"Hey Jou-kun…" Yugi started up, his amethyst eyes wide and honest, "Not trying to pry… or anything… but we weren't expecting you back at school so soon. What are you doing here?" Jounochi could tell by the look on his friends face that Yugi meant well by that question.

Jounochi shrugged. "I dunno." He muttered in response. When his friends said nothing, he got the feeling he was supposed to elaborate. "It's kinda depressing being at home all alone." He finally added.

Yugi and Honda seemed to understand immediately. "What about your dad?" Anzu asked him suddenly. It had never occurred to any of the boys to tell the girl about Jounochi's father.

"Oh you know…" Jounochi trailed off, his mind working out a white lie in an instant. "Work… that kind of thing…" Although the blonde hadn't sounded at all convincing, Anzu believed him.

"Ah, I see." She said, nodding sympathetically. "Well, we're glad to see you back here."

Nobody said anything for the next five minutes. It was a very awkward silence. Before Jou's sister had passed, their walks to class would consist of Honda and Jou acting like complete idiots. Anzu could almost seen Honda squirming under the pressure of the intense silence. No one knew what to say. Finally, Anzu and Honda parted ways from Jou and Yugi, each heading to their own classes.

Yugi snuck a sideways glance at Jou. "Hey, any chance you might want to play some duel monsters at Grandpa's place after school?" He asked hopefully.

Jounochi tipped his head back in thought. He really wasn't in the mood today but he hated letting his friend down… "I don't know about today Yug'." He finally replied. "I got a lot of catching up to do."

"Oh…" Yugi seemed disappointed for a minute before he perked back up. "Hey, you can come over and Anzu and I can help you with your studying! And Honda can clown around like he always does." He added with a faraway smile.

Jounochi really didn't want to go over to his friend's house, where he was normally so cheery and full of energy, when he obviously wouldn't be today. He hated to let his best friend down but he also hated to be a deadbeat around his friends too. "I don't know, Yug'" He hesitated as he came up with a decent reason. "I got some catching up to do with my chores… and I still gotta clean my room now that… I'm getting some of Shizuka's personal belongings…" He trailed off sadly.

"Oh, it's okay Jounochi. I understand." The small boy smiled up at his friend. The two entered the classroom silently.

***

Jounochi noticed, as the day progressed, a lot of students staring at him and whispering. If there was one thing the blonde could not stand, it was gossipers. A few students were even brave enough to approach him and offer their condolences. At first Jounochi thanked them, but after a while got tired of their pity and began snipping back replies such as 'So am I.' and eventually 'Not as much as I am.'

And most aggravatingly of all, his friends were tiptoeing around him and Kaiba had not muttered a single insult. Jounochi was pretty sure that bothered him more than anything else.

Finally it was lunch time and Jounochi had had enough. He stood outside the classroom door in the hallway, scanning the thinning crowd of students. Everyone was headed towards the cafeteria. Normally Jou would be the first one there, but today he had a bone to pick with someone.

Soon a tall proud figure came striding around the corner and down the hall towards the cafeteria. His cold blue eyes immediately located the blonde standing there and his eyes narrowed. Somehow, Kaiba had that sinking feeling that Jounochi was hoping to confront him. It was a conversation he would rather avoid.

Before Kaiba could pass by the boy, Jounochi jumped out in front of him. The brunette stopped abruptly. There was no emotion showing on his face, no hint of surprise or annoyance. Sometimes Jounochi wished he knew what he was thinking.

"Can I help you?" Kaiba sneered. "I have important matters to attend to." He added, trying to shake off the blonde.

"Yeah, you can help me. You can help me by acting _normal_ around me." Jounochi started heatedly. "I didn't think you of all people would be acting differently around me!"

At this the brunette smirked. "I never thought I'd see the day where you _asked_ me to put you down." His smirk grew wider. "Do you mean to tell me that you actually _like it_ when I call you a mutt and other such derogatory terms?"

"Yes… I mean no… that's not what I meant!" Jounochi pointed a finger at the brunette. "Just… just…" The blonde glowered. "I don't know, just quit ignoring me like you don't know what to say."

"And just what exactly do you want me to say?" Kaiba rose an eyebrow. Now this was getting interesting.

"I dunno." Jounochi put his head in his hands before glaring back at the CEO. "Just do what you normally do!" The two stood there, glaring at each other for what seemed like an eternity… (to Jounochi at least).

After a few minutes of the stare down, Kaiba closed his eyes, being the first to look away. "Idiot." The brunette walked briskly past him. "I don't have time for you."

As Kaiba walked past the blonde, there shoulders brushed causing Jounochi to shiver. He immediately turned around to watch Kaiba's retreating back. The blonde's mind was running blank and for some reason he didn't feel satisfied with the argument the two had just had. With a shake of his head, he jogged after the brunette.

Kaiba could hear the footsteps rushing towards him. He groaned. What did he want now? The CEO was supposed to be making phone calls right now, not indulging blonde pups in meaningless conversations… or arguments… whichever the blonde was trying to get out of him.

"Hey, wait a minute Kaiba!" He called out, jogging up beside him. Kaiba didn't stop or reply back but he did, however, turn his head ever so slightly and raise an inquiring eyebrow up at him. "Look… I just… I really wanted to thank you for the other day…"

Kaiba cut him off quickly. " I didn't do anything."

"No, I know, that's the point." Jounochi explained. "Just… thanks for being… nice, I guess." He finished lamely.

Kaiba stopped, turning cold eyes on the younger boy. "Listen, just because I understand what you're going through doesn't mean I want you giddily running after me like a schoolgirl-"

"I did _not_ act giddy like a schoolgirl, you pompous _ass_." The blonde interrupted him, his tone changing abruptly.

"Or like a _puppy_ running to its _master_."

"_I am not a dog!_" Jounochi all but shouted. This wasn't right, none of this was right. The argument didn't feel as natural… it felt forced. A few tears of frustration welled up in his eyes.

"And this is why I didn't bother with you at all today." Kaiba finally exclaimed with a snort. "You look _fragile_."

"Fragile?!" Jounochi wasn't sure whether to be offended by that or not.

"Yes, _fragile_." He finally gave Jounochi a good looking up and down. "You're a mess. You shouldn't even be here. You should be at home, sleeping. You look like you could use it."

"Look, let me be the judge of what I can and can't handle!" The blonde ground out.

Kaiba was about to snap back but stopped himself as his phone rang. "I don't have time for you, mutt. Go play with your friends." He finally said before whipping out his phone and answering it. Casting one last annoyed look at the boy, he started down the opposite way of the cafeteria, towards the school parking lot. Jounochi stared after him. _What the hell am I doing?_ He thought to himself. _And what is wrong with me?_ Jounochi grunted in annoyance. He didn't want to admit it, but Kaiba was right…

He really _was_ a mess.

Jounochi sighed before deciding it might not be a bad idea to get something to eat. He hadn't been eating well anyway. With one long last look at the direction Kaiba had took off in, he turned around and followed his nose towards the scent of food.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Yay! How was it? It wasn't too bad, was it? Hopefully I kept everyone in character... I think I did... please tell me I did! =D

Anyway, like I said, if any of it seemed rushed or if it seemed like I was distracted when I wrote it... that's cuz I was. I cannot multitask. I cannot ignore people when they are talking to me, hard as I try. So.... I'm sorry if this wasn't all that good. I tried though! I mean, the first half of the chapter I'd written at work during various breaks. Sooo... people at work know better than to talk to me when I look like I'm busy doing something important. But family's a different story.

Anyway... leave a lovely review for me please! And constructive criticism is more than welcome. And leave REVIEWS! Please! It would definitely encourage me to write the next chapter quicker! Yay! Well... until next time! =D


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